Public river access options shrinking along the Catawba

Saturday

Jun 7, 2014 at 12:01 AMJun 7, 2014 at 5:22 PM

Adam Orr

Despite the fact that an estimated 10 million people take advantage of the Catawba River and its lakes each year, continued development along its banks is slowly making the river more difficult for the public to access. “We’re seeing more official access areas, but they’re probably not keeping up with all the private pieces of land that people are losing along the entire waterway,” said Rick Gaskins, executive director of Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation. Gaskins’ organization is tasked with protecting the Catawba River, which flows from portions of the Appalachian Mountains into a series of seven lakes in North Carolina. In northern Gaston County, the river runs into Mountain Island Lake before flowing into Lake Wylie near the county’s southern portion. Gaskins said heavy development along the river — 14 major dams impound much of the Catawba’s total length — has led to decreasing public access to some portions of the river. Private landowners along much of the river either allowed public access in the past, or didn’t actively discourage the public, a practice Gaskins said has started to decline as more land along the water is being developed. “It was a way for owners to allow people to camp or put their boats on the river from their land,” Gaskins said. “Now, those are getting developed, a half-acre at a time, and a lot of private land that has been seen as synonymous with public land is no longer available.”

Protecting an investment: Garibaldi Realty Broker Chip Wilson listed Woodland Bay and Reflection Pointe as two of Gaston County’s larger waterside developments. Home sales at Reflection Pointe, a development in Belmont with more than 350 planned home sites, opened at the height of the housing bubble and struggled with the onset of the recession, according to Wilson. Home sales have recently started to rebound, and available homes and sites include both riverfront and river view options — both of which buyers are willing to pay extra for. “Buyers will pay a tremendous premium to be on the river,” Wilson said. “But the price differential between riverfront and river view depends on a lot of factors, like whether the property is dockable or how good the view is.” Riverfront properties can command prices 35 percent higher than a comparable river view property, Wilson said. He said he agreed with Gaskins’ assessment that increasing development along the Catawba’s banks is leading to a loss of accessible property by the public. “I think the situation is that there is going to be less natural area, and that’s going to cut into some of those public opportunities,” Wilson said. “Local governments are kind of trying to catch up with access to some of those recreational opportunities. I think it’s disappointing that more access hasn’t been carved out along the Catawba riverfront for the public.” Some homeowners prohibit wider use of riverfront property they own because of worries about property damage, trash being left behind or concerns about accidents, Wilson said. “I’ve known some property owners who have been pretty benevolent about river access that have had issues with trash left behind,” Wilson said.

Kevin Loftin Park: In recent years, Belmont and Mount Holly have recognized the public’s shrinking access to the river. Both have responding by building public access areas. “Belmont has such limited public waterfront access that we really wanted to expand what we had,” Belmont City Manager Barry Webb said. The town owns a section of waterfront property on a small cove at the northern reaches of Lake Wylie, Webb said, that was too shallow to allow for motorized traffic. When a piece of property with access to deeper water became available nearby, Webb said the town took advantage of the opportunity. “We really made the decision to add to what little river access the town of Belmont has,” Webb said. “This is the only riverfront owned by the city and we really want to preserve this going forward.” Belmont Public Works Director David Isenhour said the purchase illustrates how difficult it can sometimes be to offer the public access to coveted riverfront property. The town purchased the acre of waterfront property for $55,000 earlier this year, Isenhour said, after considering the purchase for years. A confusing sequence of property transfers dating back to the 1930s was finally sorted out, and the town was able to make an offer to the correct owner. Isenhour said the town has plans to connect the property with the new Kevin Loftin Park being built next door.

Fishing, Kayaking, but not swimming: Despite the pace of development, Gaston County continues to offer numerous recreational fishing, canoeing and kayaking opportunities. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission maintains an online map feature that displays water access areas in or near Gaston County. At least 11 offer anglers some combination of bank fishing, boating and canoeing, or pier fishing opportunities — including Crowders Mountain, Gaston County Park, South Fork River Park and George Poston Park — while at least eight listed locations offer accessibility to people with disabilities. The U.S. National Whitewater Center, Tailrace Marina, the Floating Goat Canoe and Kayak rentals and Lake Wylie Kayak Rentals offer areas to slip a canoe or kayak into the water. At least five community pools allow swimmers to take a dip on hot summer days. Each charges a fee for access. River and lake swimming opportunities for the public are scarce, however. Only Lake James State Park in McDowell County and Lake Norman State Park in Iredell County offer public swimming areas along the Catawba River in North Carolina. Ebenezer Park on Lake Wylie in South Carolina offers public swimming at posted times. Neither Gaston County Parks nor Belmont Parks and Recreation offer public swimming areas on the river or lakes. The Whitewater Center offers open water swims in the Catawba River once a week, an option that regularly draws 50 to 100 swimmers.

Hoping for reversal: Gaskins said he hopes public access options increase in the future. “Nothing promotes the river better than when people use it,” Gaskins said. “The more people we get on it, the more it helps the health of the river and our efforts to protect it.” He said he hopes planners consider additional greenways and streamside trails to expand riverfront access, as well. “The more people have access to the river, the more they fall in love with it,” Gaskins said.